Falling for my partner
by CloudwatcherNumbuh7
Summary: Nick and Judy are getting use to their lives as police officers, as well as being best friends on top of that. Slowly the two start to fall for each other but they keep it secret from everyone including each other because they don't want to ruin what they have. Will they let love slip by them or will they take a chance?
1. Chapter 1

**I saw Zootopia yesterday and it was amazing! If you have not seen it yet, then I would suggest not reading this story yet because there are spoilers. I ship Nick and Judy all the way! I hope you all enjoy :)**

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POV: Nick

Foxes are not to be trusted. It's as simple as that. Foxes are known for being sly and shady characters, not courageous or loyal. I was just a pup when I got the harsh reality check. I knew I was a fox but I also knew that I wasn't a bad animal and my mom wasn't anything like how people viewed us. She worked long, hard hours cleaning houses, she didn't make that much but she still tried her hardest to give me everything I could ever want. I never understood why my mom couldn't get a better job that paid more money and every time I would ask her she would softly smile at me and comb my hair back with her fingers.

"I like my job. Don't you worry about me honey." She would tell me softly. Even as a kid I could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth. Her green eyes didn't shine with happiness when she would tell me things like that but I didn't worry about it. She was my mom and moms are tough.

My dad left before I could remember what he looked like so it was always just my mom and I. I always tried to make sure our house was clean so my mom wouldn't have to work at home and her face would always light up with a wide smile. Those were the smiles that I would always love to see because I knew they were real. The day I told my mom I wanted to join the scouts she asked if I was sure, she looked worried and I could not understand why at the time. I told her I was sure and she scrapped together all her money and bought me a brand new uniform.

"If you want to be a part of the scouts then by God you're going to fit in." She smiled. I still remember looking in that mirror that we had in the hall, I had my chest puffed out and I tried to look as grownup as I possibly could. My mom started to tickle my sides and I started to laugh. I was so excited to be a part of that group, true I was the only predator in the scouts but I figured they didn't care, that is until they forced a mussel over my nose and mouth.

I remember crying all the way home and when I finally made it inside I saw my mom sitting on the couch with a book in her hand.

"Nick? What's wrong? What happened?" She asked, bolting up from the couch and crashing to her knees in front of me. She was moving my head side to side looking for any marks, trying to figure out why I was crying. I stepped into her arms and nuzzled my face into her neck, that's when I completely broke down in sobs. My mom held me tightly, rocking me gently, cooing in my ear that everything was going to be all right. After a few minutes I finally calmed down enough to tell her what happened.

"Oh my God. Nicky. I am so sorry that happened to you." Her eyes were swimming with tears and her ears were pinned back against her head. She pulled me back to her and held me for a little while longer. A few of her tears hit the top of my head and I felt even worse because I made my mom cry.

"Why did they do it mom? I didn't do anything to them but they said they couldn't trust me because I'm a fox." My mom gently pushed me away so she was looking me in the eyes, her eyes no longer held tears but they shined with compassion.

"Honey. Some animals think that just because we're predators that that's all we are but we both know that's not true."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, looking down at the floor. My mom gently grabbed my chin and raised my head until I was looking her in the eyes.

"Nicky you are the kindest, sweetest kit I know and I don't want you to ever think otherwise. Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am." I whispered.

"The one thing I always want you to remember Nick. It doesn't matter what kind of animal you are; you can be anything that you want if you just put your mind to it. And I don't want you to ever stop being who you are." She smiled and gave me a bone crushing hug.

"I won't stop mom. I promise."

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"That case went smoother than I originally thought it was going to be!" Judy exclaimed excitedly, pulling me away from the old memory. I looked over at her in the driver seat in the huge police cruiser we were in and I could help but think how cute she was acting.

"You almost sound surprised Carrots." I smirked.

"Aren't you? I mean they had three other teams working on it for two weeks and we got it figured out in four days. That's impressive. Even Chief Bogo looked surprised when we brought in the weasel selling those fake ID's."

"Okay. Let me clear up three things. One, we're awesome at what we do. Second, I know the black market. And three you are the Godmother of Mr. Big's daughter's baby."

"What's your point?" Carrot's asked, while looking around at the streets we were passing, almost running into a mail box.

"Geez Carrots! Watch where you're going! And what I meant is that we have deep connections with not only the mob but also some knowledge of the black market, that can be quite helpful."

"I think it's also because we have been officially working together for three months now."

"Fair point. Chalk that up as another win for you." I told her begrudgingly.

"Thank you. I figured I would win with that one." She smirked.

We started playing this game a little while back of trying to prove the other person wrong and so far my partner is winning eleven to eight. Soon enough we were pulling into the station. Carrots locked up the squad car and we bother headed inside. Like usual we met out at the front guest where Judy and Ben were chatting it up.

"I still can't believe Gazelle is coming out with a new album release!" I heard Ben practically squeal from across the room.

"I know! I thought after her tour she would want to relax but that just proves how amazingly talented she is." Carrots gushed. She was sitting up on the desk and I watched as Ben clasped her small paws in his.

"I am so glad I finally have someone to talk to about my love for Gazelle. No one else seems to understand."

"I completely understand. It takes a true fan of hers to understand another true fan." I rolled my eyes at the pair of them while I let out a soft chuckle.

"If you two are done talking about your favorite idol, are you ready to go Carrots?"

"Sure. See you tomorrow Ben."

"See you guys' tomorrow be safe getting home." Ben called as we left.

Walking in the cool weather I pulled my jacket closer to my body and looked over at Judy with her wool hat pulled over ears, right now it's hard to believe that she a cop and could take me down in five seconds flat if need be. She looked to adorable to be lethal but I knew better.

"So why is that whenever you and Ben get together all you two can talk about is that Gazelle?" I asked, breaking the silence between us. Granted we were on a populated street with talking all around us but in our own little bubble it was to quiet.

"You heard him at the station. I'm the only animal he has to talk about her with and the truth is he's the only one I can talk about with her too. No offence Nick but it's just easier to talk to someone who has the same passion as you about something then someone who would roll their eyes at you."

"Fair enough. I don't understand your love for her but don't be afraid to tell me if you want to. I'll try my best not to roll my eyes at you." I smiled down at her.

"I'll remember that for future reference." She said, giving me a smile in return. Her violet eyes were bright in the street light and I felt myself smile wider despite myself.

"You had better because I don't want you to bottle up all your sensitive bunny feelings until one day you explode into tears and I have no idea what's going on." I tell her jokingly.

"We bunnies are not as sensitive as you think we are." She said, I could tell she was trying her best not to laugh so I didn't push it. Soon enough we made it to our apartment building and went up to our rooms.

Ever since I made it onto the force Judy kept telling me that her noisy neighbors had moved out and that I should see about moving there. Which I did, so now we live right next to each other. Granted it isn't the best apartment in the world but it was better than living under a bridge.

"Looks like this is your door." I tell her.

"Yep. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night." I tell her. Walking the few feet to my apartment, I close the door behind me and collapse into my bed. The thoughts of my mom kept running through my head and I couldn't shake them. The last thing I thought before sleep overtook me was that I was happy I was able to keep the promise to my mom after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to every single person who has taken the time to read, review, favorite or follow this story! It means a lot! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and all reviews are welcomed :)**

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POV: Nick

"Nick! Time to get up!" Carrots called through the thin wall. Prying one of my eye lids open I looked at my alarm clock and saw it was fifteen minutes until six. I should be use to the wakeup call but her voice sounds like nails on a chalk board this early in the morning. Knowing it was pointless to argue the fact that the sun wasn't even up yet, I pushed myself out of bed. Lazily stripping off the uniform I slept in I trading it out for black jogging pants, white tank top and a red running jacket. No sooner than when I got my arms through my jacket sleeves there was energetic knocking at my door.

"Hold on Carrots." I half yawned, half spoke. Upon opening my door, I was greeted with a smile and a, "Good morning!"

"It's way too early for it to be a "good" morning but I'm awake none the less."

"Yes and I see you actually got dressed for our run without me having to tell you." She said while tugging on my jacket. "Glad to know you can get ready without any prompting."

"Yeah. Yeah. Laugh it up Carrots." I smirked. "Well are we going to spend the whole morning discussing my laziness or are we going to run?"

"Okay. Mr. Snippy. Let's get going." She smiled.

The was sun was peaking over the horizon when Carrots and I finally stopped at our usual stopping point, Baker by the Dozen. A small café with some of the best coffee and blueberry muffins that anyone could ask for. The small bell above the door chimed as we made our way.

"That was a good run today. You're getting better and better." Carrots said after catching her breath.

"That's what happens when you have an annoying best friend whom won't let you sleep in past six."

"Guilty but you love me." She told me with a grin.

"Yeah I do."

"Why don't you find us a spot and I'll get the food."

"Sounds like a fair trade." I smirked.

Making my way over to a back corner booth I sat down facing the rest of the café. Personally this was never a place that I looked twice at. With the checkered flooring and 1950's thyme I always thought it was a place where old coughers came to think about old times but the place actually started to grow on me. I think the blueberry muffins the size of my paw also helped with the way I view the place as well.

"Look at that cutie."

I was brought out of my thoughts by two raccoons sitting at the table directly in front of where I was sitting and I didn't have to wonder about whom he was talking about because his beady, watery eyes were locked on Carrot.

"Who? The rabbit? Are you serious?" The bigger of the two asked.

"What if I am Theo? She looks like she would fun to take full around with. Nothing serious."

"I would watch what you say. I saw her come in with that fox back there." The "Theo" gestured too where I sat. The little one glanced back and we caught each other's eyes. Narrowing my eyes and glaring at him seemed to do the trick of keeping his thoughts about my partner to himself because I did not hear another word about her come out of his mouth. It felt nice knowing that I could protect her from creeps like him.

"Sorry it took so long. The coffee machine was still warming up and the muffins just came out of the oven so their still hot." She said while sitting down my coffee and muffin in front of me.

"Well at least there a plus side to waking up early. Freshly baked sweets." I said while taking a bite of mine. The blueberries burst in my mouth and the coffee that follows it is so delicious I couldn't stop myself from groaning in pleasure.

"Wow. You really like food this morning." Carrots teased.

"Sue me. It's cold outside and this is the first real thing I ate today." It came out snappier then what I intended. Looking over at Carrots, her ears were bent back and she had her head down to where I couldn't see her eyes.

"Listen Carrots. Sorry I snapped. I didn't mean to."

"Hush! I'm trying to hear what those two are talking about." She whispered and glanced over her shoulder at the two raccoons. She looked up from the table and looked over at the pair.

"What? Why?"

"I think their waiting on someone." She whispered. Before I could ask what she was talking about the bell above the door chimed again and in waltzed in an opossum. He was dressed in a well-tailored suit, closely resembling the ones Mr. Big likes to wear. Unlike the raccoons that were dressed in jeans and t-shirts.

"Thank you gentlemen for meeting me here." The opossum said. His voice was gravelly and sounded like he smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

"It's our pleasure boss." Theo said. The respect in his voice was obviously there but there was also a twinge of fear.

"I'm glad to know you two can follow orders. Unlike that cousin of yours. But maybe with time and the right kind of motivation he'll be trustworthy again."

"Why do I have a feeling that that "motivation" is something really painful?" I whispered. Judy glared at me but I noticed that she was trying to act as normal as possible and I followed suit not sure what the plan was because the situation could turn bad rather quickly. I wasn't able to hear the rest of the conversation so I relied on Carrots to be my ears.

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POV: Judy

Looking at Nick I could tell he was waiting on a signal from me on what we should but I stayed where I was at. I wasn't sure what was going on but if we had to intervene at least we would be ready for it. As the three kept talking the quieter they got so I had to keep moving my ears and hoped that I could pick up more of their conversation.

"Okay. Listen. Theo. Vinnie. If we want to take the Big's family down, we are going to have to get the right people on our side." My blood ran cold. Whoever this boss was he was trying to take down Mr. Big and Fru Fru's family.

"One thing I don't understand boss is why you asked us to meet at place like this to discuss this matter." The bigger of the two asked, which I guessed was Theo.

"Good question. You see the way I see it is that Big protects all these businesses on these streets and this place is usually filled with couples that have their heads so far up each other's asses they won't notice us one bit. Plus, Big and I are enemies and I think the last place he would think to look for me would be on his turf."

"How wrong you are." I whispered but I followed the boss's word and reached over for Nick's paws. Once I had them in mine I gave him my most convincing love sick grin.

"Carrots…Are you…okay?"

"Just fine my little pumpkin bear." I gushed. "Come here so I can kiss you."

Nick looked completely freaked out at first but slowly he caught on and a sly grin appeared on his face.

"Well if my Bun Bun wants some sugar, who am I to deny her." He said. Sounding just as lovely dovey as I had hoped. As he leaned closer I put my mouth up to his ear and started to tell him all I heard.

"We need to tell Mr. Big about this opossum before he can do any real damage but to that we need to get out of here without drawing attention to ourselves." I explained.

"What do you suggest we do?" He asked.

"Act like we're together and slip out the front door."

"So act as love sick as I possibly can?"

"I think that would be best." I answered. Glancing over I saw the three were still in deep conversation and I had confidence this would work. Before I could gather myself I felt a light kiss brush my cheek and I looked back at Nick who was smirking but had a softness to his eyes I had never seen before. If I didn't know he was acting I would be blushing like mad. But I returned his kiss with a little nose to nose touch.

"Are you ready to go pumpkin?" I asked.

"Only if you are Bun Bun." He gushed.

"Okay. Come on." I smiled. Once we were both out of the booth I reached over and took his hand in mine. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how big his paw was compared to mine but I figured that was just the acting going to my brain. We walked paw in paw out of the store without once causing the boss or his two minions to look our way. Once we were outside I saw that a limo had been parked outside.

We held hands until we were out of their sight and then broke apart. Before we did though we got a few looks from others on the street like we were doing something wrong. I brushed it off and quickly got out my phone to take a picture of the license plate.

"Come on Carrots. We had better get out of here before we blow our cover."

"I had better call Fru Fru. Make sure everything is okay."

"Good idea. And we can run the plates through the system and see who we're messing with." Nick added. I nodded and listened to my phone ring. Fru Fru picked it up on the fourth ring.

"Hey Judy! What's up?" Her voice was happy and high pitched like normal. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh nothing. I was just calling to see how motherhood is treating you."

"Oh you know how that goes. Judy is still asleep and Scott just left for work so I'm enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasts." She laughed.

"I understand that. Well I'll let you go. I'll come by later sometime this week to visit, okay?"

"Sounds great! Just let me know and send my love to Nick!"

"Will do. See you later."

"Bye Judy!"

Hanging up my phone I saw I was so lost in the conversation we were already half way to the station.

"I'm just guessing from that conversation but everything is fine, right?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. Everything is normal. We just have to make sure we talk to Mr. Big as soon as we possibly can. To make sure it stays that way." I added.

"Well don't worry we'll figure out what's going on and then we'll tell him."

Looking down at my purple workout jacket with matching pants I realized that we wouldn't have time to go back home to change.

"Don't worry Carrots. We have spare uniforms at the station."

"How do you know what I was thinking?" I asked, looking up at him. He looked down at me and his signature smirk appeared on his face.

"I'm just that good. Bun Bun."

I looked down at the sidewalk and put a hand over my fast beating heart. Hoping that he wasn't able to read what I was thinking.

'When did you get that good at reading me?'


End file.
